Alex de Minaur sinks rival then steals Wimbledon hearts

Alex de Minaur could not be deflected by either rain showers or a determined compatriot as he began his assault on Wimbledon’s grass citadel with a straight sets victory.

James Duckworth provided obdurate opposition but despite forcing a trio of tie-breaks Australia’s No.8 could not take a set off the national No.1.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Alex de Minaur defeats James Duckworth.

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With Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt watching on de Minaur won 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4).

A few yards away on the swathe of outside courts another Australian also progressed. Alexei Popyrin defeated Thiago Monteiro in four sets in just over two-and-a-half hours.

Adam Walton followed them into the second round with a straight sets victory over Federico Coria but Alja Tomljanovic went out in the women’s event in disappointing fashion to her old rival Jelena Ostapenko.

While the dogged Duckworth gave de Minaur a useful workout his resistance will have been frustrating. Combined with the inclement weather it kept the ninth seed occupied for much of the day.

Beginning at 11am local time (8pm AEST Tuesday) the match did not finish until nearly 4.30pm despite taking barely three hours play.

One shower arrived just after de Minaur had taken the first set, the second with the third-set tie-break poised at 2-0 to de Minaur.

When they returned, around an hour later, de Minaur sealed victory within five minutes, Duckworth going long on the third match point.

Duckworth had his chances. He broke in all three sets, and had served for the second set at 5-4 and the third at 5-3. But both times de Minaur showed his class to break back.

But it was what happened next that got everyone talking.

De Minaur went on to steal the hearts of Wimbledon when he was spotted courtside, cheering on his girlfriend, Katie Boulter.

The Wimbledon social media account showed vision Boulter winning a point and fist pumping, with de Minaur at that precise moment, also raising his fist.

“Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur, in sync,” the account said, with a heart hands emoji.

Fans also loved it with one dubbing the tennis power couple ‘De Minoulter’.

Boulter also won her match over Tatjana Maria in straight sets.

“De Minoulter conquers Round 1 at Wimbly,” one fan said.

“Katie Boulter defeats Tatjana Maria. Alex de Minaur courtside in her players box after he just won his match. Tennis has a new power couple.”

The romance is set to captivate the entire UK with Boulter a local and a darling of the British media.

De Minaur now plays 63-ranked Spaniard Jaume Munar. De Minaur has won all three previous meetings, including in straight sets at Roland Garros this year.

Walton’s Wimbledon debut began in impressive style. The 25-year-old Queenslander ignored the rain breaks to beat the higher-ranked Coria 6-3 6-3 7-5 in just over two hours. It was his maiden grand slam victory.

He now meets another Argentine and fellow debutant, Francisco Comesana, who stunned No.6 seed Andrey Rublev in the first round.

Popyrin had wrapped up his victory just before the second rain break arrived, beating Brazilian Monteiro 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 6-3 6-4.

It was Popyrin’s second win in Wimbledon’s main draw in five visits, the last coming back in 2019.

He now moves on to face another South American, Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Seeded 30, and ranked 16 places higher than Popyrin, the 24-year-old will be a much tougher test.

Neither player has reached the third round at SW19 before, nor have they played each other.

Tomljanovic followed de Minaur and Duckworth onto Court 12 but those Australian fans who stayed to watch were give little to cheer. The former Aussie No.1 lost 6-1 6-2 and there was no sign of the sparks that have featured in past meetings with Ostapenko.

– With Cameron Noakes

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